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AFI’s top film picks, selected by critics, scholars, TV and film artists and AFI trustees, come ahead of the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations on Wednesday and Thursday. All three sets of picks are likely to be leading indicators for the Oscars in February.

Notable AFI absences included cult drama The Master and the upcoming The Hobbit. But the AFI, founded in 1967 to nurture the art of film, does not pick an overall winner.

“AFI Awards celebrates America’s storytellers as collaborators,” said AFI President Bob Gazzale in a statement.

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“We are honoured to bring together artists as a community, without competition, to acknowledge the gifts they have given the world in 2012,” he said.

Zero Dark Thirty, the yet-to-be-released film about the hunt for bin Laden, has emerged as a front-runner for Oscar glory after picking up accolades last week from both the New York-based National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.

But on Sunday, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association shunned the political thriller in favour of French drama Amour for best film.

The AFI also picked its top 10 television shows, with Mad Men making a record fifth appearance on the list. The advertising drama was joined by Breaking Bad, zombie horror The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Homeland,Girls, comedy Modern Family, epic fantasy Game of Thrones, political TV movie Game Change, and comedian Louis C.K.’s show Louie.

The films and TV shows and their makers will be celebrated at a luncheon in Los Angeles on Jan. 11.

Oscar nominations are to be announced on Jan. 10, with the Oscar ceremony set for Feb. 24 in Hollywood.

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